Finding your voice: A practical suggestion

This might not be for everyone, but I found mine by writing a weekly blog-style article at Magnificent Nose. It could be about anything, from more philosophical thoughts on self-confidence, to a light-hearted piece on finding a new rice cooker. Point is, it was about my life and my things dear to me, which let the voice flow without too much thought on my end.

I had a friend who’d read my first novel tell me he felt the articles had a very different feel to them – which he preferred. And when I wrote my third novel, this was the style that came naturally. It was a voice that the first one was sorely lacking, and it wasn’t by conscious effort on my part. All the articles over 2 years had shaped my voice, not by what others were telling me but by my exploration of different styles. You… settle, somehow.

Mind you, I had to make myself a contributor to a site with an editor, because my self-discipline absolutely sucks. But knowing that someone was expecting a piece each week (ie. I’d made a commitment to someone who was not me) forced me to come up with something, even on the weeks when I couldn’t think of anything interesting that had happened. Of course, others will simply have the discipline to DIY, so you need to see what works for you.